Lucky Boy Don't Play
by usopp
Summary: Ace's first love is a wayward boy. AU AceLu (set in American 90's).
1. He's a Fool

It was his lunch hour. Ace went down to the town's popular cafe bar; he sat at the bar and talked with the bartender — a friend.

"Marco, I like someone," Ace admitted, cool as winter air. He fingered the straw of his drink, Ginger Ale; some days Marco would be willing to award his persistence towards getting an alcoholic beverage with a beer. Today wasn't one of those days.

Marco, drying glasses, paused. "Wow. Girl? Boy?" Though Ace wasn't known for ever honest-to-heart liking anybody, he was known for playing around with anyone who would approach.

"Boy." Ignoring the straw, he took a swig of Ginger Ale.

"And?"

"Well..." Ace set the drink down and cracked a quirky smile, "met him after summer, we got the same study. I'd never seen him before; he transferred this year. Without a thought, I sat next to him on the first day." He scratched the back of his neck and shook his head.

"I don't remember who started talking to who, but we've been talking everyday, the whole period, ever since... he's real cute — kind of slow. Beaming smile. Right here, right now, just realized I'd gotta like him."

Marco stared at Ace, amazed. Ace stared right back at him, waiting for some kind of response.

"...Did that all just come from 'King Fling'?"

Embarrassed, Ace shook his head some more. "Oh, shut it. Who the hell calls me that? He's just the first person I like and you're the first person I'm telling. I got carried away."

Marco chuckled, raising his occupied hands defensively. "Sorry. It's just surprising, you know? Anyway, what's his name?"

Ace sighed heavily. "Luffy."

"You sigh enough to fill a balloon." Marco checked his watch, "you should be heading back now."

Ace spun off of his stool. "Yeah, I know."

He put down seventy-five cents for Marco, grabbed his bag from the floor, and left.


	2. Just Fine

The romantic admission to Marco was about a week ago; Ace had just gotten back from talking with him again; between them, Luffy has become an occasional, avid topic of discussion.

Brushing off anybody in the halls who would try to get his attention, Ace made his way to study hall.

Luffy wasn't there yet; Ace took the outside seat of the table that was, at this point, practically reserved for the two. Ace searched his pant pocket for a tin, opened it, popped a breath mint in his mouth, and waited for Luffy.

Luffy arrived just before the late bell went off. Next to Ace, he took the window seat; nearly every person in the room was talking.

"That was close," Ace remarked.

"Huh? Oh. I slept in class and got caught." Luffy's devil-may-care way of doing things made Ace laugh.

"I told you, you have to hide behind books."

Luffy rested his left cheek on his fist, supported by his elbow. "Think I forgot."

Ace laughed away.

"You wanna go out?" The ambiguousness of the question made Ace feel funny. "...For a smoke, I mean," he clarified; and then he felt stupid; this wasn't the first time Ace suggested he and Luffy go loiter around on school grounds. With Luffy, he enjoyed skipping more than if he were alone or with anybody else.

"You never give me a smoke."

"Yeah, 'cause you're a babe. If you wanna get particular about it, I'll be puffing and you'll be out there looking pretty."

Luffy frowned; Luffy had grown accustomed to Ace's teasing, but he still didn't like it. "You're not much older."

Ace whistled in mock surprise. "Aw, don't be mad." Ace nestled his arm around Luffy's shoulder; the leather of Ace's jacket struck Luffy as cold. "Let's go. I'll let you take a drag this time, fine?"

Luffy's slumped shoulders perked, and Ace thought he was cute. "Really?" Luffy grinned.

And out they went.


	3. Something Incredible

There was a lot of coughing.

"Hey, that's why I said you shouldn't have," Ace patted Luffy's back until the coughing stopped and snatched the cigarette away from his fingers afterwards.

"Oh! Hey, I'm not done yet!" Luffy exclaimed. He tried to grab the cigarette that Ace held up high, and Ace made sure to keep it out of reach. Ace being five-foot-ten and Luffy being five-foot-seven, it was, on Luffy's part, some kind of futile attempt.

"The deal was 'a' drag. That was 'one' drag. And you completely wasted it up, little babe," Ace cooed, entertained with the situation; Luffy got over the cigarette.

"It wasn't that cool. I won't miss it."

Ace's smoke wafted around Luffy's face; Ace beat at it a little.

"Ace, aren't you cold?" Luffy took into consideration the weather and just whose jacket he was wearing; before they went out, Ace draped his jacket over Luffy's shoulders. When Luffy asked "what for?" Ace shrugged, though was aware of how it was chilly today. All the other times they would skip, it would be a little warm, and Ace didn't bother to bring his jacket to school on warm days.

"No, I'm all right."

Their activity shifted into a comfortable silence. Luffy, kneeling, fiddled with the rocks and the grass. Ace, stationed against a brick wall, thinking, smoking, looked down at Luffy every so often and grinned.

"How'd you feel about dating me?"

Luffy's attention was taken away from some kind of bug.

"I wanna—I want—to go steady with you..." Ace was racking his brains, he pulled some of his hair back and scratched. "I really..really like you, I love you; I think you might like me, or something..."

Luffy leaned forward to look up at Ace's nervous face.

"Yeah, I do."

Ace, looking down at Luffy, paused, and processed. "...You 'do' what?" Happy, he had a grin; Ace wanted to make him say it.

"I love you;" one of those beaming smiles. The words came as easy as breeze.


	4. Slow at the Start

Four days later, they skipped study hall again. It was somewhere into eighth period; against the brick wall, they were kissing. Ace didn't know for how long, and didn't care, whereas Luffy found it difficult to keep up, and would have appreciated a break.

Eyes peered open, Ace noticed, thought about how he kind of got caught up in his own pace, and pulled away. "My fault," he apologized, though Luffy didn't understand what he meant.

"Come on," Ace took Luffy by the hand and started to walk towards the nearby parking lot.

"Where to?" Luffy had his head turned around, he stared at the spot where they stood just moments ago.

"Date." By the time Ace had answered, they had already reached his beloved form of transportation, his motorcycle; he's never let anyone other than close friends and family ride on it with him.

They stopped walking. Ace was unlocking his helmet.

"But my stuff..."

He kept busy. "Date with me or go back and get your crap?"

Luffy seriously considered the two options, and that, of course, stressed him; helmet in hand, Ace placed it on Luffy's head.

"Oh, hell. You've got your hat, don't you?" Luffy glanced back, ready to answer Ace's rhetorical question; his straw hat was there. Ace grinned. "Get on." And Luffy got on.

Having driven as far as one of the school's multiple exits, a sense of relaxation surged through Ace. "You've got my favorite jacket...my favorite helmet, and my—favorite—heart. You can rob me and run," he mused. This made Luffy smile; that was the first and last thing said all throughout their drive.


	5. Fast to the Finish

Their destination was Ace's most-visited burger place. Ace thought about going by Marco's job, but he didn't want to risk the teasing and embarrassment once Marco would realize just who he had brought along. He'll bring Luffy by some other time, he thought.

Through the doors, Ace led Luffy to his favorite area of the restaurant. They sat down at a booth next to a large window, Luffy tossed the leather jacket on the cotton seat. Luffy gazed around.

"I've never seen you eat;" Ace had seen Luffy sneak a snack or two into study hall, but he doesn't consider something so light 'eating.' "How do you eat?"

Luffy thought about what his friends had always said, and still say now. "A lot."

"Great; sweetheart."

Ace ordered for them, four hamburgers, two for each, and three servings of fries, two for Ace and one for Luffy; and as they waited they talked. When their food arrived, they talked through mouthfuls.

Luffy was going on about some action film, to Ace's entertainment, when he noticed something from the corner of his eye. He suddenly stopped talking, turned his head towards the window, stared to make sure he saw right, smiled, and waved.

Ace looked towards the window, too. There was some pleasantly surprised orange-haired girl standing there; she didn't notice Ace at first, but when she did, they made eye contact.

There wasn't any pleasant left in her surprise, she was now shocked. She hurried into the restaurant.

When she was close enough, Luffy verbally greeted her. "Hey, Nami;" she stopped in front of their table.

Nami recognized Ace as the play-boy who fooled around with her friend, and Ace, with a closer look, recognized Nami as the 'cuckoo' girl who kicked him out of her friend's house, throwing his boots out after him, when she showed up one late morning only to find Ace sleeping on the couch.

Nami looked at Ace, and then at Luffy, and then at Ace again, and then at Luffy again. Nami grabbed Luffy's shirt by its sleeve. "What are you doing with him?"

Luffy stuck his last fry in his mouth. "Well, we were eating," he grinned.

"Not that!" Nami freed Luffy's shirt and thrust the opposite arm in Ace's direction. "How do you know him?" Her voice was rough, but lowered. "He's—He's—," Nami held her tongue when Ace stood up. Ace looked her down and Nami looked him up.

"Listen; you're his friend? I played around a lot; I'm serious now. Luffy's my boyfriend," as he told this to a girl he's only seen three times in his life, Ace's face tint red a little.

Arms crossed, Nami studied Ace. "Whatever," she spat.

"You're hard," Ace sighed. He looked over at Luffy—a confused face—and thought he looked cute with food stains and grease smeared all over his cheeks, so Ace leaned over the table to kiss him.

He sat back down and took out a cigarette and smoked it.


	6. High Quality

"You don't like Nami?"

Ace and Luffy left the restaurant, though they were still loitering around on the outside. Nami left after talking with Luffy for a few more minutes; something about dating this Vivi girl, Ace caught. Ace smoked the whole way through, staring at Luffy's face; Ace liked watching Luffy's expressions change.

"No, it's not that. She's fine... Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay."

Ace let out a laugh at the childlike answer and held Luffy's hand.

"I like you...I love you." Sea breeze.

"I love you." America's summer breeze.


End file.
